Congrats!
It is a pretty awesome feeling. And while I would like to tell you it is all rainbows and unicorns, it is not. There is some bad that comes with the good.
Here is what to expect with a viral post:
Lots of love
Chances are, people are sharing your post because something resonates with them. So there will be lots of positive comments, words of encouragement, and love. Those make you smile and feel good which helps to counterbalance the…
Hate
Oh, there will be hate. Hate emails, hate Facebook comments, hate tweets. For just as many people that agree or like what you are saying, there will be someone that thinks you are an idiot. Because they will tell you that and call you that. Going viral will thicken your skin. Take all of it with a grain of salt, most of it will be just noise. But do not write all of it off, if there is a lesson in there, learn it. You can learn a lot from haters.
Emails from strangers asking for off-topic advice
My viral post was about marriage and the random emails I got from people, mostly men, wanting marriage advice caught me off guard. But what caught me more off guard was the non-marriage related questions. Like about kids or money. People are weird and if you did not know this before, a viral post will show you that.
A website crash or two
I talked about this in my So You Want to Go Viral post, but it bears repeating. I cannot tell you how many hours my site was down because of traffic. I got emails and Facebook messages from people asking if I could send them my post because they just had to read it and my site was not available. There was a week where my site went down at least once a day for hours. So know who your hosting company is and have safeguards in place so that you do not lose all that valuable traffic. My post was viewed a lot, but I wonder how big it would have been if it was available every time someone tried to access it.
Questioning yourself
Those haters from above? They will make you question yourself. Make sure you have people around you that you can be honest with. Share your concerns, talk about them, and then let them go. Stick to your truth, whatever that is.
More opportunities
Nothing gets your name out there more than a good viral post. I would say this is the best thing that came from My Husband is Not My Soul Mate. But be careful who you say yes to. Know what your goals are as a blogger and writer before you ever hit it big, so when opportunities knock, you know which doors to answer and which ones to say no thank you to.
Old Friends
It is like winning the lottery only without all the money. Okay, so not like winning the lottery at all, but people you have not spoken to in a really long time will come out of the woodwork. Some of them are just saying congrats and others want something from you. It is a bummer, but true.
New Friends
I met some really great, authentic people from my viral post. People that were not looking for anything, just people that emailed or commented and relationships blossomed from it. That was a surprising part for me. But I am really grateful for them.
Eventually things will calm down, I promise
There came a point when I wanted all of it to be done. I wanted to stop getting emails and comments, I wanted the shares and pins to disappear. I did not want to talk about my post at parties or with friends. I felt like we were beating a dead horse. I will admit my attitude was not always the best. But now, months later, I can tell you that it will not always be so chaotic and to be okay with the craziness for a minute. It will eventually end, and you will not miss it, but you will be glad it all happened.
Jessica says
Great piece! I’ll admit sometimes I get nervous about a lot of exposure since I see some of the comments that people get. But you are right that you should take some critique and learn from it.
Jill Levenhagen says
Don’t let fear hold you back! Just hit delete on the crazies!
Nakisha says
I haven’t had a post go viral but one can dream. I still found this post encouraging and informative. I have often wondered about how much traffic my website could take before it crashed. I hope to be so lucky (um without the crashing).
Jill Levenhagen says
Yeah, I am with you Nakisha. I have not had a viral post either. Mary had a crazy summer last year when her post went viral! It is exciting! I hope it happens to you!
Debbie Howard says
Great post. It really gave me a lot to think about.
Erin says
I appreciate your honesty and insightful advice in this post. Definitely learned about things I didn’t expect…like the off topic emails! Thanks!
Maggie Stephens says
Excellent blog! Thanks for sharing your ideas. 🙂
Glynis says
thank you for writing this post! I had a post go small-time viral, after I had only been blogging for a month, and it completely caught me off guard. You’ve made some great points that I will keep in mind, if and when it happens again!
Erin @ Erin's Inside Job says
I can definitely understand the haters part. When I was first published on Huffington Post I had to stop reading the comments bc some of them were so mean! You are right about it giving you thicker skin and so now when I read negative comments I understand that it is more about THEM and less about ME. It’s still not great to read, but the impact they have is less and less.
Jen Grice says
“Old friends”…. YES! What is up with that? It’s like… “hey, I knew you back when you did this….” (usually not your best moments and the opposite of what you’re talking about. I write a lot about boundaries now. As I’ve had to learn how to use them more ofen!
Veronika | Tickled Pink Confetti says
I guess I will keep dreaming and persevere for now 🙂